Liverpool man charged with possessing child pornography

Syracuse, NY -- A former Onondaga County employee, who lost his job as a civilian clerk at the Onondaga County Correctional Facility in 2003 when child pornography was found on his work computer, is under arrest today on federal charges of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.

Stephen J. Bennett, 58, of Henry Clay Boulevard, Liverpool, pleaded guilty May 20, 2003, to a felony count of possessing a sexual performance by a child and was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge, according to The Post-Standard archives.

In a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court, an undercover state police investigator said he obtained three video files from Bennett through a peer-to-peer file sharing network. According to the complaint, a search warrant was executed at Bennett's Henry Clay Boulevard apartment, where investigators found evidence of his receipt and possession, including a copy of one of the videos downloaded by the investigator.

Because Bennett is a previously convicted sex offender involving child pornography, he is facing enhanced federal penalties, prosecutors said. For the distribution and receipt charge, Bennett faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years per count.

For the possession of child pornography, Bennett faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison to a maximum of 20 years in prison, prosecutors said. Bennett also faces fines on each count up to $250,000 and a supervised release of no less than five years up to life post-release supervision, prosecutors said.

Bennett was ordered detained by U.S. Magistrate Andrew T. Baxter pending a June 19 court hearing.

Bennett's arrest was the result of an investigation by the state police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and state police Troop D criminal investigations, working together with the U.S. Secret Service.

Bennett was suspended from his job as a clerk at the Jamesville correctional facility in 2003 after child porn websites he visited were found on a work computer at the facility, according a the county prosecutor at the time.

A computer technician was working to recover missing files on the computer when pornographic images that Bennett had viewed while at work on Aug. 8, 2003, popped up, the prosecutor at the time said. He faced 13 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child at the time from visiting "kiddie porn" sites on the Internet, but pleaded guilty to one county.